Photo By: Andy J. Scott

Last night over at the Roc Nation headquarters in New York City, Casey Veggies held a listening session for the re-release of his third mixtape as a deluxe album, Sleeping In Class. CV and the whole Peas and Carrots family – Anwar Carrots and Joshton Peas – came straight out of LA to give the East Coast a taste of his latest work. Finally emerging after the DJ played a few tracks off Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch The Throne, he thanked everyone in attendance, announcing that the album has reached number four on iTunes. Explaining the album’s five additional songs were part of wanting to say more after his December 2010 release, CV kicked off with “Forever,” which he said as an artist, “I just want to be forever.”

Read the rest of the review after the jump. You can purchase Sleeping In Class on iTunes.

Casey’s narration through the album was preliminary explanations for every track. Sleeping In Class is distinctively an LA-inspired album, filled with feel good anthems made-ready for listeners to swag it out. On “Ridin’ Roun Town,” Casey declares his youth and love for dark-skin women, “she sweeter than Tampico,” before launching into “Hear Me Screamin’.” It’s a track that definitely serves as a sum of what the album brings – a dedication of cementing his place in hop-hop.

The first wave of West Coast features comes in the form of Dom Kennedy in “Get Through.” It has imagine-filled quips that describe simply “getting through life, a life song,” he said. The next, “30,000,” is a heavy banger with featuring artist Nero, who was caught in the crowd lip-syncing his rhymes. This track was a high point in the album, a song that oozes with braggadocio that will circulate the club scene.

Often, Casey stopped his hosting duties to wade through listeners and pose for photos, each giving him praises over the booming speakers. There are many moments when his album would be perfect for the confident teenager finding a deep relationship or a onetime fling. The pair “Go Ahead” and “Time Flies” is examples of his introspection about women. The former has him rapping about not wasting any time on physical desires, while the latter delves into his anguish of the one that got away.

Late in the album, longtime mixtape collaborator Tyler, the Creator snarls his way on “DTA.” Casey said that it’s produced by Tyler and essentially a song about not trusting anybody. It’s one of those records where listeners actually hear a much tamed Wolf Haley, compared to his “Bitch Suck Dick” exploits seen on Goblin. The album’s clear standout is “Euphoria II,” a soothing sample for Casey’s raps that amplifies life’s pleasures and “the natural high.”

After “And Ever,” the continuation of the intro track that shows more of a hungry rapper, CV went right into the bonus tracks. The “Ridin Roun Town” remix set the stage for the talent of LA, who has him sitting back to have C-San, Kennedy and Kendrick Lamar steal the show. Kennedy’s laid-back flow and Lamar’s technical rhymes make this remix possibly the album’s next single. Another nice collaboration with a like-minded contemporary is Mac Miller on “Can I Live,” in which name drops to “Mr. Vegetables” shows signs of their chemistry as they embark on The Blue Slide Park Tour this week.

Sleeping In Class is very much an album that showcases Casey’s constant grind since his beginnings. He made sure to let fans know about “The Weight of The World”: “This is my personal favorite, this is how I feel right now,” he said. With a room filled with family, friends and supporters, Casey should feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. But as he thanked all of his guests for coming, you can tell this kid doesn’t fear pressure. He’s humble enough that his music will surely take him to where everybody knows about the story behind Peas and Carrots. Hint: It’s not just vegetables.

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